Archive for August, 2010

Teacher School Supplies and Birthday Parties

Teacher school supplies can add a little magic to almost any birthday party. You can use teacher school supplies like seasonal decorations to create a fun, themed party environment and fun arts and crafts supplies for a project or party favor.  My daughters and I recently attended a fantastic summer birthday party.  Along with swimming pools, slides, and yummy summer treats, the hostess decorated all of the tables with sunshine banners and stickers.  For the group activity, she provided teacher school supplies like paints, stamps, craft sticks and stencils for the kids to use to decorate a t-shirt.  Online teaching supply stores offer many great discounts on supplies to use for birthday parties and activities.

Many parents want to incorporate fun, meaningful experiences to help celebrate their child’s special day.  Why not have a party at your house or in your back yard.  You will not only be saving money on renting a facility, but you will have more freedom to plan special activities without time constraints.  It is great to take advantage of any seasonal decorations that you can find around the time of your child’s birthday.  My girls both have birthdays at the end of October, so I try to incorporate Halloween and Harvest time themes into their parties.  Last year I ordered canvass bags and paint so the kids could decorate a trick-or-treating bag.

In addition to nice party activities, I also strive to provide useful party favors.  Along with the trick-or-treat bag, I gave each child a set of flash cards.  I felt that the cards would be great for kids to practice identifying their letters and numbers.  Families could use the cards to play games and other activities.

These are just several examples of ways that you can use teacher school supplies to add fun to any birthday party.  Have fun planning your next party!

Incentives and Motivators – What Motivates You?

Incentives and motivators are key components in the process of learning.  I know that I am more likely to learn new things when I am motivated, and kids are no exception.  When I am preparing to take part in an all-day in-service, I appreciate when the administrators provide breakfast or special treats throughout the day.  While intrinsic motivation is strongly encouraged in the school setting, incentives and motivators can be rewarding and used successfully for teachers and students.

When establishing classroom routines and norms, planning what incentives and motivators you will use during the year will help create a classroom community that is focused on learning.  For example, incentive charts can be used to monitor behavior and academic progress.  You can determine if you are going to use these items class wide or on an individual basis.  Classroom supplies such as motivational stickers and pencils can be rewards for students who successfully meet their goals.  This creates motivated learners and happy teachers.

For a job well done, awards or certificate can be meaningful to students and their families.  My mother still has many of the certificates I received throughout my school career.  Recognition is a powerful motivator.  Think about all of the awards ceremonies you have attended.

So you know that you want to motivate your students, but you are wondering what you incentives you should choose.  Well, ask your learners.  I believe that students need to be part of this decision.  Buy-in is very important.  One easy way you can find out what motivates the students is by conducting a class survey.  As the teacher, you need to create excitement about the rewards and recognize the individuals who meet their goals.  It is amazing how influential peers can be.

What are your favorite incentives?  Please share your ideas with us and visit us at www.k12schoolsupplies.net!